


Horizon's Perils

by FictionChroniclerNick



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Chapter 98 reference, Established relationship between certain characters, F/M, Manga Spoilers, Mild Language, Same universe as Mortality: An AoT Story, Set after a certain time-skip, Set after the Scouts reach the ocean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 21:59:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12756978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionChroniclerNick/pseuds/FictionChroniclerNick
Summary: One day, they will face the Marleyans in battle once more. But not yet.Shingeki no Kyojin and all associated content is created by Hajime Isayama. I know and own nothing.





	Horizon's Perils

Their long-range spotter was right—over a dozen ships appeared on the horizon.

 

It’s almost as if the thunderstorm wanted to tear through the weathered Survey Corps cloaks, but not a single soldier minded the heavy rainfall. Everyone ached to know whether this new arrival was friend or foe, neighbor or threat. Had the early morning sun not been blotted out by inclement weather, assessment and identification would have been more feasible.

 

Thankfully, cannonfire that struck Connie’s position addressed all their doubts.

 

The Scouts, now short by a few men, fired back with their own weapons, sending more than just shock and awe. The pleasant tune of ocean waves was replaced by a ringing of the ears; the intoxicating smell of gunpowder overpowered that of saltwater. The Commander made the correct decision to outfit the once innocuous shore with a myriad of weaponry, emplacements, and heavy artillery. It was funny, Hange thought to herself with a dark sense of humor once, how a sight so serene and tranquil as the ocean only further reminded her of their predicament. In a different life under much different circumstances, she might have seen the beach as a place to retire, or a vacation spot that she could manage until her hair turned white. With a generous dose of reality however, the beach was nothing more than a military site that had to be secured against future invasions.

 

Against heavy rain, treacherous waves, and the hail of artillery, the invaders pressed on.

 

When two ships touched dry land, the defenders responded with unnatural, deafening thunder and a blinding flash of light. And there it was. The invaders’ target. The Great Herder of the Titans. Now, to capture the unworthy Eldian before any more bloodshe—

 

With speed that belied its size, the Attack Titan was on top of the first warship in no time, grasping its hull with murderous intent. The ship looked more like a child’s toy than a military vessel when it was hurled towards the other approaching ships 10 meters away, crashing squarely on another vessel and creating a wall of water in its wake. The second warship launched Titan-restraining harpoons at the target—only for the missiles to glance off a hardened torso. The second one fared no better than the first. Ripped in half, the ship’s two pieces and its crew were hurled into the void too before the Attack Titan leapt and plunged underwater. Much to the disconcertment of the invaders.

 

In a panic, more harpoons fired a split second too late, harmlessly landing on the water’s toiling surface. Other more level-headed captains focused their attention on the more immediate threat, raining cannonfire on the blasted green-clad soldiers of the god-forsaken Paradis. Oswald, an experienced and respected skipper in the fleet, was genuinely surprised by the enemy resistance they encountered. The weaponry that was punishing his fleet was all too familiar; no, it cannot be a coincidence. How the fuck did these savages reverse-engineer Marleyan technology?

 

Intending to spare his men’s lives more than anything, he ordered the war horn with the second deepest modulation be sounded. At this rate, even a fool would call a direct charge suicide.

 

Just as the fleet started to split and flank the enemy position, a giant hardened fist tore through one of the trailing warships, dooming its crew. Before anyone else could react, two more ships were sentenced to a watery grave. Oswald sounded a different war horn, ordering all harpoons and guns to bear on the target. So this was the madman who defeated two of Marley’s warriors? Damn those incompetents. Damn that Braun and that arrogant Leonhardt!

 

Watching through his spyglass, Captain Oswald saw the Attack Titan in full height, chest-deep in the water and ravaging ships left and right. Some sections of its body were still hardened, but they had partly prevailed at last. At least five harpoons landed solidly on the target, significantly encumbering its movements. Cannonfire kept it busy as well, visibly dealing damage despite that damned hardened form.

 

_Eren, wake up. This isn’t happening._

 

Everything felt familiar until he felt something tear through his chest. Then his breathing stopped. That couldn’t be right. His entire torso was armored and unharmed. As he fought against the invaders, the Attack Titan felt its nape and found a three-meter harpoon sticking out like a pin. So a different chest then—his own. Did the regeneration cover a couple of busted vital organs? Could he keep on fighting? He sure as hell had to. And he did.

 

Right until he saw her arcing through the air like the blasted idiot she was.

 

His injuries and the ferocious weather rendered it difficult to focus on anything, but he _knew_ it was her. Even as half his mind concentrated on thrashing warships and deflecting projectiles, his eye instinctively fell on the hooded figure catapulting towards him at high speed, no doubt intending to pry the soon-to-be corpse from the Titan body’s nape.

 

Time stopped when he saw a metallic glint trailing behind her—a missile not meant for her.

 

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

 

He awoke with a start, his chest brimming with an unimaginable concoction of emotions and sensations seeking to overpower one another—fear, rage, worry, remorse, doubt, sorrow. It took him a moment to register the pair of cold hands that cupped his face, desperately shaking him from the fictional hell fabricated by his own mind.

 

“Eren, Eren! It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re fine, just calm down.”

 

The Titan shifter didn’t trust himself to speak, opting to embrace his companion instead—as tightly as he could without hurting her. He held her close, as if slackening would make her any less real and thereby vanish before his very eyes. That was a predicament best left as a nightmare. His rattled mind focused on the raven-haired soldier in his arms, taking in her scent, the rise and fall of her chest, and the firm hands that returned his embrace.

 

“What the hell is going on here?”

 

The Captain, sword in hand by the tent’s entrance, locked eyes with Mikasa. He read the situation in an instant, but was no less infuriated. He sheathed his sword in a more portable leather scabbard instead of the cumbersome vertical maneuvering gear.

 

“We all have them, even me,” said Levi, “But tell your boyfriend to grow up and save the screams for fucking emergencies.”

 

Before the stunned girl could say anything, the Captain already left. She didn’t mind the words just now as someone more urgently required her attention. She still didn’t know exactly what caused Eren to act the way he did. Nightmares haven’t been a problem for quite a while now.

 

She waited for a couple more moments before breaking the silence, “Eren, what’s the matter? Do you want to talk about it? I’m here.”

 

“You’re here. That’s what matters. Knowing that, trust me I’m okay.”

 

“I hope you are. And of course I’m here. I will be ’til the very end.”

 

“Mikasa, that’s what I’m afraid of. I… I was brought back to the time those warships came to our shore. Everything played out the way I remembered it, except Connie died. And you were in the direct path of a harpoon meant for me. It felt so damn real.”

 

She pulled away slightly to get a better look at him, “But it wasn’t. Eren, listen to me. It wasn’t a memory, it was just a dream. If we had the same nightmare, I might’ve woken up the same way as you did. I already lost you several times before, and I’ll admit I could barely swallow it each time I did. I wouldn’t want to wake up from something like that.

 

“But I wouldn’t be afraid for long because I soon as I wake up, I know that you aren’t too far away. Probably pissed off at all the noise I made, yelling a myriad of profanities, but at least I know you’re safe.”

 

“Hey,” that made him smile as he pressed his forehead to hers, “I wouldn’t act like that, you idiot.”

 

“Word choice suggests the contrary, _blockhead_. I still love you, though.”

 

“I said that first,” echoing his words when he rescued her from the woods not too long ago.

 

“And you took your damn time,” said his protector as she closed the distance between them. Each one they shared felt more natural than the last, as if their lips were very old friends or those puzzle pieces Armin used to have that fit together perfectly. Theirs was never a whimsical gesture, but a celebration of life conveyed by an intimate moment known only to them.

 

Sometimes, they got carried away, like the way he pulled her down so that she hovered over his supine form. Irresponsible hands then dug beneath his guardian’s clothes, tracing lines up her muscled back and threatening to discard the fabric completely.

 

For all her stoicism, she could only chuckle in his mouth before humming a chastising tone.

 

“Eren,” she pulled back, heartrate slightly elevated by now.

 

“I’m sorry,” he sheepishly replied, moving his hands to her face.

 

“No, it’s okay. I just can’t stand tickles. And your hands are a bit cold.”

 

“Like yours aren’t.”

 

“Well, they aren’t as adventurous as yours either.”

 

“Mhm, got me there.”

 

“Good. And remember. You might’ve said it first, but I kissed you first.”

 

 _Fucking hell, always the competitive one_ , he thought, “I died first. Don’t you dare try to compete with that. Just don’t.”

 

“Then don’t dare do it a second time. I won’t allow it as long as I can.”

 

“I know,” he pulled her closer, feeling her entire weight against him. She was damn heavy (he recalled from one of his classes that muscles significantly outweighed fat), but he knew better than to tell her that, “But please help me too.”

 

“Help you what?” her soft voice was tinged with concern.

 

“Keep you safe. In the same way you want to keep me alive, I don’t want you to die for me. Or anything else for that matter. Please. You must know what, how, and why I feel. I’m asking you to have more trust in me.”

 

She was silent for a while, spellbound by words that were part-revelation and part-confession. Before her conversation with the Captain, she never really thought of Eren’s predicament were she to die on his account. She wouldn’t be there to embrace him, dry the tears with the scarf that was once his, or kiss away his fears. She knew he would move on and resume the fight eventually, and she found some relief in that.

 

“Alright, Eren. Now I know.”

 

“Better be the case. I want to see the world with you, after all this. There’d always be something missing if it were just Armin and me.”

 

“That makes two of us then. Have to take care of my boys.”

 

He pressed a chaste one to her mouth, as if to help them remember and stay true to their commitments even as dark times loom closer than ever before. That night however, was truly theirs. As both succumbed to dreamless slumber, they were free of the worries wrought by unknown enemies, the hourglass on Eren and Armin’s heads, and hordes of Titans. When those days come knocking on their doors, they’ll be ready, swords (or diplomatic wit) in hand.

 

For now, they had to deal with a cheeky Armin Arlert that found them drooling on each other the following morning.


End file.
